Unconditional Love
by XX00Meg00XX
Summary: "She's been blessed to find happiness in all places of her life. Even more blessed to find acceptance, support and joy on the darkest of days. And it all started with the unconditional love of a father." For (@AAR1806). Cover-art by the lovely (@dtrekker)


**A/N: **_Written as a gift for Adriana ( AAR1806). Thank you to Angie ( dtrekker) for the opportunity to do this. My thoughts and prayers go out to Adriana and her family! This was one of my favorite things to write! Also a huge thank you to Angie for the beautiful cover-art and to Lou( lousiemcdoogle) for her willingness to beta! *HUGS* to all of you! _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the characters used in this story.**

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**Unconditional Love**

_"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. _

_We are formed by little scraps of wisdom."_

_-Umberto Eco_

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It hits her one day while she's sorting through childhood pictures. There are only three people in her life who have shown her unconditional love. Her husband, who walked through hell and high water with her to reach their happy ending, continues to show her that type of love every day. Her mother, who taught her that fighting for what you believe in is always important and loved her without question until her last breath. And last but certainly not least, her father, who's shown her that love from the moment he first laid eyes on her.

She smiles as she gathers up the pictures, letting the memories take her back to each time and place.

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She's a newborn, wrapped in a sea of pink and has just been placed in a very happy Jim Beckett's arms for the first time. His smile stretches across his face mirroring the look of love in his eyes, the kind that only a father can give his daughter.

At the age of five she scraped her knee for the first time after wrecking her new bike. Johanna snapped a picture of Jim as he leaned over to kiss the angry, red scrape on Kate's knee. And the thing that stands out in Kate's mind more than any other is that the moment her father's kiss touched the scrape, the pain seemed to fade away. To a five year old Kate, the super powers of her Jim Beckett were endless.

When she turned sixteen her parent's let her plan the party she wanted. She spent most of the night dancing with her boyfriend at the time, but the best part of that night was when Jim cut in and twirled her around the entire room. And it didn't matter that everyone was staring at them because her father was the best.

To her junior prom Kate wore a navy blue dress; her date an arrogant jerk with a GPA that was almost non-existent. He showed up at her door with nothing but a stupid grin and was rewarded with the signature Beckett eye-roll from more than one Beckett. She wasn't even sure why she picked him to go with, but just as she stepped out the door Jim grabbed her arm and softly pulled her back into the house. He slid a beautiful blue and white corsage on her wrist and kissed her on the cheek. She decided then that no man would ever measure up to her dad. Although her dad made that night memorable, she chose to skip senior prom in favor of a poetry slam.

Nineteen years old and her entire world came crashing down on her, but her father held her up. Pulling her to the side after her mother's funeral and taking her to Coney Island to get away from the sadness of that day. They walked the beach, collecting things to make a stick man that she still has in her desk drawer at the precinct. Her father was her rock and he wrapped in his arms she let his love for her fill the empty spaces inside her.

Through every step that she took closer to finding her mother's murderer, Jim Beckett was there. A father's strong arms to wrap around her and hold her up when she faltered under the weight of the world.

Every broken heart was pieced back together with comforting words. Her father reminded her that somewhere there was someone out there who deserved her and until then, he'd be the support that she needed.

Jim Beckett was the first man to approve of Richard Castle being in her life, in fact, he was the only man that Jim ever approved of. So much so that he asked Castle to keep her safe because he knew she would listen. Jim rooted for them even when things were hard and seemed impossible.

She remembers the smile that had stretched across her father's face when they told him they were engaged. He just shook his head and told them it was about time. Alexis must have snapped a picture of them that day. Kate is pressed in between Jim and Castle, her arms around both men and the joy is clearly written on her face.

Outside the door of the master bedroom in the Hamptons, Jim had prepared to walk her down the aisle and give her away to the love of her life. Castle was the only other man to ever find a place in her heart. Jim heard her agonized cry as she received the phone call and ripped the doors open, only to run right into his arms. He gave her the momentary strength she needed to rush the crash site.

For the two months that Castle was missing, her father was forced to watch his daughter crumble. He watched her fail to accept that the love of her life was truly gone. He watched her fight when all evidence pointed to Castle walking away from her. He held her when she cried, he supported her when she fought and he listened when she yelled. Jim reminded her that Castle was the only man who had loved her almost as much as he did.

The strong arms of her father, his complete understanding and the constant reminder of his love propelled Kate forward. Jim anchored her when the current created by the storm threatened to sweep her away. And when Castle was found alive and her world began to right itself once again, Kate looked to her father because his support had been everything to her.

Healed and once again on solid ground, Kate met her father at the back door of the Hamptons house. She was dressed in white and ready to finally bound herself in love and in life to Castle. She wrapped her arms around her father and thanked him for all that he'd been to her, for all the he'd given her and for all that he was to her.

Jim walked his daughter down the aisle and gave her away to the man he'd always wanted his daughter to marry. A lifetime of unconditional love awaited Kate's future because Jim knew that she'd always be surrounded by it. One of her favorite pictures of that day was snapped just as the sun was setting. She's pressed against her husband's side, arms twined around each other, but in the background her father stands watching them and the look on his face mirrors everything that she was feeling inside in that moment.

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Kate slides the pictures into the photo album she'd been working on just as the knock sounds through the loft. She closes the book and slides it onto the book shelf just as she hears the voices of those she loves echo through the loft.

She joins her family at the dining room table, sliding down in the seat between her dad and Castle. As Castle begins to serve the meal she watches both him and her dad interact. She's been blessed to find happiness in all places of her life. Even more blessed to find acceptance, support and joy on the darkest of days. And it all started with the unconditional love of a father.

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_To Adriana: May you carry the love of your father with you during these hard times. He'll be with, always. All my love and thoughts to you, dear!_

_Would love to hear your thoughts! xo_


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